DVD Review: Mommie Dearest - Hollywood Royalty Edition

Based on the 1978 bestseller by Joan Crawford’s daughter Christina, 1981’s Mommie Dearest has been reissued as Mommie Dearest: The Hollywood Royalty Edition with special features befitting the film's stature as a cult classic 25 years after its original release. It tells the story of the screen legend and her troubled, often abusive, relationship with Christina. While the makers of Mommie Dearest may have intended to deliver a serious film about a woman with serious problems, what was produced was an over-the-top camp-fest that was hard to take seriously on any level.

For some move fans, Joan Crawford is no longer the woman who won a best actress Oscar for Mildred Pierce, but rather the woman who maniacally destroyed her rose garden after being labeled box office poison and fired by MGM. Though Anne Bancroft was the producer’s first choice to play the role of Joan Crawford, no one else could have played the role better than Faye Dunaway. Dunaway had the intensity and the grit that has helped make her name synonymous with the role. She fires off endless one-liners with pin-point accuracy ("It’s not you I’m mad at, Helga, it’s the dirt”; “Tina! Bring me the Axe"; You’re a lousy excuse for someone who really cares.")

In the famous “night raid" scene, Dunaway performs what can only be described as American Kabuki, with cold cream covering her entire face except for her twisted mouth and wicked eyes. Faye becomes the enraged Joan, taking the viewer right into her mind. One of my favorite scenes in the film is when a drunken Joan, trying to lure her retreating lover back to her, begs him to stay. He turns to the weeping Crawford and says, “If you’re acting, you’re wasting your time, If you’re not, you’re wasting mine.” Brutal, but brilliant.

Kudos also must go out to Diana Scarwid who played Christina Crawford as an adult. She was perfect, full of sass and vinegar. She’ll probably be remembered for two classic lines: “I wanna know, why did you adopt me?” and “Because I am not one of your FAAANNNS!” Talk about enunciation!

Article Author: Rebecca Wright

Rebecca is a freelance writer, concentrating in the areas of film, television and music criticism. Her B.A. is in the Humanities with an emphasis in film and writing.She holds an M.A. in American and British literature with an emphasis in dystopian …

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